How foreign media report Tinubu’s yacht budget amidst Nigerian hardship

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday signed into law a ₦2.2 trillion supplementary budget that includes funding for a presidential yacht, new bulletproof SUVs for the president’s wife, as well as renovations to the president’s residential quarters.

Nigerians facing the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades have expressed revulsion at the approval of a controversial budget that includes funding for a presidential yacht, despite widespread criticism.

The House of Representatives only managed to reassign money for the yacht to student loans. But the lawmakers are beneficiaries of another criticised subhead: SUVs for each of 460 members, worth about N60 billion.

Why this matters

Tinubu scrapped fuel subsidies in May, arguing that the country could no longer afford them. Fuel prices rose more than 250%, aggravating inflation and weakening the naira. The president has since then encouraged Nigerians to bear increased prices.

The policy hypocrisy, reported in the local media, also drew wide coverage in foreign press.

International media drew attention to Nigeria’s poverty levels, referring to the country as “one of the world’s poorest nations in the world”, although the World Bank classifies Nigeria as lower-middle-income country, meaning its per capita income is higher than that of the poorest countries in the world, but is below the average for middle-income countries.

Here are highlights of some of the reports:

Reuters

Writing under the headline: Nigeria’s president signs budget including funds for yacht, bulletproof cars, Reuters reports that allocations that might be useful to citizens were “overshadowed by the allocation of funds for items seen as luxuries items and on renovations for the president’s residential quarters.”

It highlights the economic problems faced by citizens. “Africa’s most populous nation is grappling with double-digit inflation, foreign currency shortages, a weakening naira, widespread insecurity and crude oil theft,” it wrote.

“Tinubu, who was sworn into office in May, has been under pressure from unions to offer relief to households and workers. He has asked Nigerians to be patient with reforms.”

CNN

CNN highlights national outrage over the spending. It also reports how indebted Nigeria his and its plans to borrow more this year.

“In an Independence Day address in October, Tinubu asked Nigerians to make sacrifices until his economic reforms began to take effect, urging them to ‘endure this trying moment.’ However, many have pointed out that no attempts have been made to curb the huge costs of its government,” the channel reported.

The television also reminds that Tinubu’s 48-member cabinet is the largest of any Nigerian president since the country’s return to democratic rule in 1999, according to data intelligence company Stears.

Associated Press

The AP highlights the presidency’s tepid defence of the spending, quoting spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale as claiming that the budget serves to “strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture and address Nigeria’s critical infrastructure deficit, amongst other considerations.”

The paper contrasts how the 460-member National Assembly will get each a new SUV reportedly at a cost of more than $150,000 each, against the country’s poverty level.

“Nigeria, one of the world’s poorest countries, is currently seeing food prices continue to soar to record highs. Also soaring is the frustration of ordinary Nigerians who see politicians earn huge salaries while others like medical professionals often have to go on strike to protest meager wages,” it wrote.

Breitbart

The American far right publication Breitbart called the spending “lavish”, and said the Nigerian leader reaped “personal benefit” from the budget. But it said Tinubu was not alone.

“The president is not the only Nigerian politician to reap personal benefits from the latest budget. The Nigerian National Assembly has 460 members, and all of them received brand-new luxury SUVs at a cost of over $150,000 apiece, ostensibly to “help them do their work better,” it wrote.

The website also reflected that: “Tinubu made a big push for business-friendly reforms after taking office, but his economic platform had almost completely disintegrated by the end of his first hundred days. Nigeria’s currency, the naira, hit record lows of a thousand to the dollar on the brisk currency black market, government spending has not been trimmed, inflation is over 26 percent, and labor unions remain restless.”